YANKEES ACQUIRE RHP LANCE LYNN FROM MINNESOTA TWINS

The New York Yankees today announced that they have acquired RHP Lance Lynn and cash considerations from Minnesota in exchange for INF Tyler Austin and RHP Luis Rijo.

Lynn, 31, went 7-8 with a 5.10 ERA (102.1IP, 105H, 61R/58ER, 62BB, 100K, 12HR) in 20 starts with Minnesota in 2018 after signing a one-year contract with the Twins on March 12, 2018.

Over parts of seven Major League seasons with the Cardinals (2011-15, ’17) and Twins (2018), Lynn has gone 79-55 with one save and a 3.54 ERA (1,080.0IP, 995H, 459R/425ER, 431BB, 1,019K, 98HR) in 203 games (181 starts). He has reached 10 wins and 150K in each of his five full seasons at the Major League level (2012-17). The Marion, Ind., native appeared in the playoffs each season from 2011-15, posting a 4.50 ERA (52.0IP, 26ER) in 24 postseason outings (seven starts).

After missing the entire 2016 season recovering from right elbow ligament replacement surgery performed at the end of 2015, Lynn made 33 starts for the Cardinals in 2017, going 11-8 with a 3.43 ERA (186.1IP, 71ER). In 2012, his first full season at the Major League level, he was named to the NL All-Star team.

Lynn was selected by the Cardinals in the first round (39th overall) of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Mississippi. He will be a free agent at the end of the season.

Austin, 26, hit .223 (27-for-121) with 16R, 6 doubles, 8HR and 23RBI in 34 games in one stint with the Yankees this season. His 15.13 AB/HR ratio is the highest among all Major-League rookies in 2018 (min. 100AB). Additionally, he appeared in 25 games this season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, batting .253 (25-for-99) with 14R, 9 doubles, 6HR and 14RBI. Across three seasons with the Yankees, Austin hit .230 (56-for-244) with 27R, 11 doubles, 15HR and 43RBI. Of his 15 career home runs, 11 either tied the game or gave the Yankees the lead. Along with then-teammate Aaron Judge, the pair combined to hit back-to-back home runs in their first career Major-League plate appearances, becoming the first teammates to do so in Major League history. The Conyers, Ga., native was selected by the Yankees in the 13th round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft.

Rijo, 19, went a combined 4-1 with a 2.77 ERA (39.0IP, 42H, 15R/12ER, 3BB, 32K, 0HR) in seven games (five starts) this season with Rookie-level Pulaski, Single-A Tampa and short-season Single-A Staten Island. Over three minor league seasons, he has gone 9-6 with a 2.80 ERA (125.1IP, 123H, 48R/39ER, 14BB, 117K, 4HR) in 27 games (18 starts). The native of Valencia, Venezuela, carried an 8.36 career K/BB ratio (117K/14BB), the second-highest career mark in the Minors since 2016 (min. 120.0IP). He was signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on July 2, 2015.